French far-right leader to make unprecedented Israel visit

Also attending will be Bardella’s fellow European Parliament MP Marion Marechal
“Jordan Bardella will deliver a speech on the rise of anti-Semitism in France since October 7,” a source said

PARIS: Jordan Bardella, the leader of France’s far-right National Rally (RN) party, is to make an unprecedented visit to Israel later this month to attend a conference on fighting anti-Semitism, a party source said on Wednesday.
Also attending will be Bardella’s fellow European Parliament MP Marion Marechal, the niece of Marine Le Pen, who leads a separate far-right movement, she told AFP.
They are both expected on March 26 and 27 in Jerusalem on invitation of the Israeli government to address the conference.
“Jordan Bardella will deliver a speech on the rise of anti-Semitism in France since October 7,” a source close to Bardella told AFP, confirming a report in newspaper Le Figaro.
Since the attack led by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, the RN has sought to present itself as a bulwark against anti-Semitism.
The party was co-founded as the National Front (FN) by Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, who died earlier this year and was known for his anti-Semitic remarks.
Marine Le Pen has moved emphatically to distance the movement from her father’s legacy, renaming the party the RN and seeking to make it electable.
Marine Le Pen now leads the RN MPs in the French parliament and is eager to stand again in 2027 presidential elections.
Jean-Marie Le Pen declared in 1987 that the Nazi gas chambers used to exterminate Jews are “just a detail in the history of World War II.”
In an invitation letter, the Israeli government said that “this major conference will bring together political leaders, international organizations, special envoys, and prominent figures from around the world to discuss and address the global threat of modern anti-Semitism.”
Israel is also planning “special visits” for the two MEPs, “to Israel’s southern and northern borders to better understand the geopolitical landscape.”
This is the first time that figures from the French far right have been invited to this type of conference.
In November 2023, President Emmanuel Macron attacked the RN, without naming it, accusing the movement of “claiming to support our compatriots of Jewish faith by confusing the rejection of Muslims with support for Jews.”